Poll respondents with attitudes

New poll results from around the place on attitudes towards climate change, Australia Day and things-in-general.

An off week in the fortnightly cycles for both Newspoll and Essential Research, but we do have three fairly detailed sets of attitudinal polling doing the rounds:

• Ipsos has results from its monthly Issues Monitor series, which records a dramatic escalation in concern about the environment. Asked to pick the three most salient out of 19 listed issues, 41% chose the environment, more than any other. This was up ten on last month’s survey, and compares with single digit results that were not uncommonly recorded as recently as 2015. Cost of living and health care tied for second on 31%, respectively down three and up six on last month. The economy was up one to 25%, and crime down one to 21%. On “party most capable to manage environmental issues across the generations”, generations up to and including X gave the highest rating to the Greens, towards whom the “boomer” and “builder” generations showed their usual hostility. The poll was conducted online from a sample of 1000.

• A poll by YouGov for the Australian Institute finds 79% expressing concern about climate change, up five since a similar poll in July. This includes 47% who were very concerned, up ten. Among those aged 18 to 34, only around 10% expressed a lack of concern. Fifty-seven per cent said Australia was experiencing “a lot” of climate change impact, up 14%; 67% said climate change was making bushfires worse, with 26% disagreeing; and only 33% felt the Coalition had done a good job “managing the climate crisis” (a potentially problematic turn of phrase for those who did not allow that there was one), compared with 53% who took the contrary view. The poll was conducted January 8 to 12 from a sample of 1200; considerable further detail is available through the full report.

• The Institute of Public Affairs has a poll on Australia Day and political correctness from Dynata, which has also done polling on the other side of the ideological aisle for the aforesaid Australia Institute. This finds 71% agreeing that “Australia Day should be celebrated on January 26” (55% strongly, 16% somewhat), and 68% agreeing Australia had become too politically correct (42% strongly, 26% somewhat). Disagreement with both propositions was at just 11%. A very substantial age effect was evident here, but not for the two further questions relating to pride in Australia, which received enthusiastic responses across the board. I have my doubts about opening the batting on this particular set of questions by asking if respondents were “proud to be an Australian”, which brings Yes Minister to mind. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the poll is the demographic detail on the respondents, who were presumably drawn from an online panel. This shows women were greatly over-represented in the younger cohorts, while the opposite was true among the old; and that the sample included rather too many middle-aged people on low incomes. The results would have been weighted to correct for this, but some of these weightings were doing some fairly heavy lifting (so to speak).

Elsewhere, if you’re a Crikey subscriber you can enjoy my searing expose on the electoral impact of Bridget McKenzie’s sports sports. I particularly hope you appreciate the following line, as it was the fruit of about two days’ work:

When polling booth and sport grants data are aggregated into 2288 local regions designated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there turns out to be no correlation whatsoever between the amount of funding they received and how much they swung to or against the Coalition.

I worked this out by identifying the approximate target locations of 518 grants, building a dataset recording grant funding and booth-level election swings for each of the ABS’s Statistical Local Area 2 regions, and using linear regression to calculate how much impact the grants had on the Coalition vote. The verdict: absolutely none whatsoever.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

2,074 comments on “Poll respondents with attitudes”

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  1. blog watch 22/1
    occasional blogger.
    some quotes from Lord Salisbury
    “Whatever happens will be for the worse, and therefore it is in our interest that as little should happen as possible.”
    http://anotherpoliticallyincorrectblog.blogspot.com/
    MEDIA REJECTS SCIENCE, CONCEALS TRUTH ABOUT ‘CLIMATE CHANGE’ & DROUGHTS
    Given the connection between droughts and bushfires, many sought to blame ‘climate change’ for bushfires also, with headlines like, “Bushfire season ‘will be more severe as a result of climate change’.” Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John even accused the government of being “arsonists”:
    “How dare any of you suggest that in this moment at this time it is appropriate to be prosecuting a piece of legislation with the aim of propping up coal,” he told the chamber. “You are no better than a bunch of arsonists – borderline arsonists – and you should be ashamed.”
    http://theclimatescepticsparty.blogspot.com/2020/01/media-rejects-science-conceals-truth.html
    Wind Farms Paid £136m To Switch Off Last Year
    Energy firms were handed more than £12 million in compensation following a fault with a major power line carrying electricity to England from turbines in Scotland.
    https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/
    Greens desperately want ScoMo to be fired
    Amazing to watch how extreme the globalist warmists — the Greens in particular — are becoming in their relentless campaign to dominate the narrative re the Australian bushfires.
    http://www.matthaydenblog.com/
    Earth’s oldest asteroid crater found in Australia
    Scientists have identified the world’s oldest asteroid crater in Australia, adding it may explain how the planet was lifted from an ice age, reports BBC News.
    https://tallbloke.wordpress.com/
    Unprecedented hail, phenomenal damage in Canberra: 1871, 1877, 1897, 1919, 1936, 1956, 1963
    Canberra aims to be 100% renewables (but they aren’t cutting the line to the coal power). Will we ever find out how much the bill for the solar panel damage was?
    Compared t so eof the others she is positivly sane.
    http://joannenova.com.au/
    Mars’ water was mineral-rich and salty
    Presently, Earth is the only known location where life exists in the Universe. This year the Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to three astronomers who proved, almost 20 years ago, that planets are common around stars beyond the solar system. Life comes in various forms, from cell-phone-toting organisms like humans to the ubiquitous micro-organisms that inhabit almost every square inch of the planet Earth, affecting almost everything that happens on it. It will likely be some time before it is possible to measure or detect life beyond the solar system, but the solar system offers a host of sites that might get a handle on how hard it is for life to start.
    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/01/22/mars-water-was-mineral-rich-and-salty/
    Banks warned to ‘mobilise all forces’ to save the economy from climate change-induced disaster
    Another stupid prophecy. Global warming prophecies NEVER come true
    http://antigreen.blogspot.com/
    Arctic sea ice can’t ‘bounce back’
    Arctic sea ice cannot “quickly bounce back” if climate change causes it to melt, new research suggests.
    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/01/21/arctic-sea-ice-cant-bounce-back/
    MUNGO MACCALLUM. The mob has found him out.
    It was almost a throwaway line. In the course of his friendly chat welcoming David Speers to the ABC, Scott Morrison mused that his climate change policy was “evolving.” And since, as usual he had nothing substantial to say in his ramblings, the commentators, speculators and fortune tellers seized on the remark, investing it with genuine significance.
    And lots more good eading.
    https://johnmenadue.com/
    Cleaning the Stables
    On Dec 2, 2019 the Australian Parliament voted on a motion to create a federal Anti-Corruption Commission. The motion was put forward by Andrew Wilkie, an Independent from Tasmania. The motion failed, because a majority of federal parliamentarians was against the creation of such a body. The votes were cast along party lines, with no deviations.
    https://askbucko.com/2020/01/22/cleaning-the-stables/
    New Podcast – Prince Harry & Iran
    Mark Moncrieff of Upon Hope has now uploaded the second podcast we recorded last week. It features a conversation between him, myself and David Hiscox of XYZ on the topics of Prince Harry leaving royal duties and the situation in Iran.
    http://ozconservative.blogspot.com/
    This is not about the fires
    My dog I’ve had for 14 years dies, and I decide to spend two days in bed. I look online and see that more than a billion Australian animals have died in the fires. Guilt spirals on top of guilt. How gauche, to feel this private grief, when there is such public grief already.
    https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/this-is-not-about-the-fires
    PM & ADF thank our mates from NZ, Singapore, Japan, Fiji and PNG for helping – nothing from Indonesia
    https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/
    Trolls, bots, bushfires and climate change
    The local BBC was claiming some fake social media pushed arson as the major factor and that this was a misinformation campaign by anti-global warming bots.
    Moonbeam from the larger lunacy
    One would think that the onset of menstrual pain would bring them back to the biological reality that they are women, but no…
    https://www.onlineopinion.com.au/
    Green Swans: Central banks may have to foot bill for stranded fossil fuel assets
    https://reneweconomy.com.au/green-swans-central-banks-may-have-to-foot-bill-for-stranded-fossil-fuel-assets-95530/
    Australia has a credible path to a low carbon grid. Why won’t the Coalition embrace it?
    Don’t believe the nonsense that you might read from conservative commentators, and in too much of the mainstream media, that having a high renewables grid will be the path to economic ruin.
    https://reneweconomy.com.au/australia-has-a-credible-path-to-a-low-carbon-grid-why-wont-the-coalition-embrace-it-72686/
    Queensland Scheduled Demand exceeds 9650MW today – within 400MW of the all-time record!
    This afternoon saw the Queensland Scheduled Demand peak at 9,657MW – under 400MW off the all-time record set in February 2019.
    Also noted is how estimated injections from rooftop PV systems across the QLD region peaked earlier today at around 1,800MW level.
    http://www.wattclarity.com.au/articles/2020/01/qld-scheduleddemand-above9650mw/
    How did climate change get so controversial?
    Our human brain is poorly equipped to deal with a threat like climate change. Over millions of years, we’ve evolved to avoid life-threatening dangers like predators jumping out of bushes. We’ve survived by quickly detecting and avoiding immediate, short-term dangers.
    https://skepticalscience.com/
    The consequences of overtime in Dutch academia
    Today, I joined three colleagues to head to The Hague to hand over a report of 720 formal complaints of structural overtime in academia and its negative consequences to the Labour Inspectorate. These complaints were filed as a single collective complaint by two labour unions, on behalf of WOinActie, the activist group of academics that tries to improve working and learning conditions in academia. The main claim of WOinActie has been that the Dutch Universities (which are all public), have become inadequately funded due to the rising number of students over the last two decades, and that this has caused structural overtime to be necessary to get the work done, which in turn harms the mental, physical and social well-being of university staff. And it’s also harming the quality of our teaching.
    http://crookedtimber.org/
    Canada – MMT poster child?
    On August 10, 2015, the Library of the Canadian Parliament released one of their In Brief research publications – How the Bank of Canada Creates Money for the Federal Government: Operational and Legal Aspects – which described the operational interactions between the Bank and the Canadian Treasury that facilitate government spending in some detail. It allows ordinary citizens to come to terms with some of the essential capacities of the currency-issuing Canadian government, which Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) highlights as a starting point towards achieving an understanding of how the monetary system operates.
    http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=44127&cpage=1&unapproved=66162&moderation-hash=743e4e13c08237d3189a380bc5860867#comment-66162

  2. North Sydney is pretty safe Liberal. It might be vulnerable if the right independent came along, as happened in the 1990s (Ted Mack, a green-tinged former Mayor of North Sydney). Labor would have no chance.

  3. “The Institute of Public Affairs has a poll”…

    More precisely, the Institute of Public Affairs has an opinion that wants to transmit in the guise of a poll…. a completely predictable poll…

    Next?

  4. Danama Papers

    That photo appeared on my Twitter feed so I’m not responsible for the photoshopping of it.

    Now that you come to mention it though……

    ————

    Haha, is what you’re saying is that is wasn’t personal bias, but structural bias (given the WWW is an arm of US cultural imperialism)?

    It’s designed so everyone becomes an accidental yank!

  5. bakunin @ #451 Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020 – 8:52 pm

    There is a great quote in Whitlam’s “the impotent are pure” speech…

    …”We cannot convincingly oppose the conservatism of our political opponents with a conservatism of our own”…

    …………………..

    Like all good socialists, I was savagely beaten about the head with this fundamental ideal from an early age.

    Deeply disappointing that many of the great “thinkers” of the Labor party who contribute to this place, have either forgotten, or had parents too stupid to conceptualise it for them.

  6. Not Sure

    “Deeply disappointing that many of the great “thinkers” of the Labor party who contribute to this place, have either forgotten, or had parents too stupid to conceptualise it for them.“
    ———-
    Yes. The last “left” wing ALP PM voted against giving equal marriage rights.

    such is life.

  7. Being a socialist because your parents brought you up to be one isn’t really the sign of someone who is an independent thinker. Or, indeed, of someone with innate values.

  8. March 4, 2019:

    Bernie Sanders filed Monday to be a candidate for the Senate in 2024 — as an independent.

    But last month, Sanders filed as a Democrat for president.

    It’s not unusual for candidates to file with the Federal Election Commission for re-election to their current office, which allows them to begin raising money.

    …But with Sanders, it creates the odd situation of having a high-profile presidential candidate file to run for two different offices with different parties, just as the Democratic Party is adopting rules mandating presidential candidates take something of a loyalty pledge.

    Sanders also filed as a Democrat in 2016 to be able to run in the Democratic presidential primary — and had already filed for his 2018 Senate campaign as an independent, a status he’s held in Congress for many years. Sanders’ ambiguous party loyalty was one reason the Democratic National Committee adopted rules for 2020 candidates to affirm that they are, in fact, a Democrat, and will run and serve as one.

    …But filing as an independent for a future campaign could disturb already ruffled feathers among some Democrats.

    The new DNC rules state that a candidate must “be a bona fide Democrat whose record of public service, accomplishment, public writings, and/or public statements affirmatively demonstrates that the candidate is faithful to the interests, welfare, and success of the Democratic Party of the United States who subscribes to the substance, intent, and principles of the Charter and the Bylaws of the Democratic Party of the United States, and who will participate in the Convention in good faith.”

    And candidates must affirm in writing to the DNC chairman that they “are a Democrat… are a member of the Democratic Party; will accept the Democratic nomination; and will run and serve as a member of the Democratic Party.”

    The interpretation and enforcement of those rules could be tricky, however, especially with a candidate as high-profile as Sanders, someone who has a deep base of fervent supporters.

    Some within the party view the rules as strictly applying to the presidential campaign. The party is not requiring Sanders, for example, to change his party affiliation in the Senate.

    https://www.npr.org/2019/03/04/700121429/bernie-sanders-files-to-run-as-a-democrat-and-an-independent

  9. Here, are several examples of seemingly intelligent people who claim Labor values, yet have never read Keynes, failed to get Engels and were raised to believe that the Communist Manifesto was either something that you use to might use to obtain a discount inside a brothel, or a convienent substitute for a commercial product that hippies might use to wipe their fucking arses with:

    ………………..

    Boerwar says:
    Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 5:27 pm

    …”If you have any real concerns about reality I suggest you take it up with Wally.
    BTW, just in case you are wondering, tomorrow is an excellent day for a protest.
    So off you go!”…

    …………………..

    zoomster says:
    Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 10:09 pm

    …”Wow, lightning comeback there, Not Sure. mundo’s still trying to work out one”…

    …………………

    Greensborough Growler says:
    Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 8:54 pm

    …”It’s sad that you have not learned this princple of life”…

  10. William Bowe says:
    Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 10:53 pm

    …”Sorry to have to be the one to break this to you, Not Sure, but you’re nothing like as smart as you think you are”…

    …………..

    Sorry to be the one to break this to you, but I am at least as smart as I think I am.

  11. Not Sure
    says:
    Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 10:58 pm
    William Bowe says:
    Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 10:53 pm
    …”Sorry to have to be the one to break this to you, Not Sure, but you’re nothing like as smart as you think you are”…
    …………..
    Sorry to be the one to break this to you, but I am at least as smart as I think I am.
    _________________________
    Well you are smarter than the 3 posters you named! Take your small victories. 🙂

  12. Rakali
    Both the Republicans and Democrats have long political histories with the political divide traditionally being between the south and the north. For a long time the Republicans were the party of the New England states with their wealth and liberal values while the Democrats were the party of the south and unions but this flipped in the 1960s on civil rights when the south went Republican while the Republicans have slowly lost the New England states but the moneyed set has remained Republican.

  13. zoomster says:
    Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 10:39 pm

    …”Being a socialist because your parents brought you up to be one isn’t really the sign of someone who is an independent thinker. Or, indeed, of someone with innate values”…

    ………………..

    Being a moderate conservative because the dominant faction of the Labor party told you it was the only way to win an election isn’t really a sign of someone who understands how modern politics works though, is it?

  14. “… but this flipped in the 1960s on civil rights when the south went Republican while the Republicans have slowly lost the New England states but the moneyed set has remained Republican.”

    Seems to be similar to what happened here. The Liberals are a union of the moneyed set, those who want to join them, the bigoted (“Alf Garnets”) and the religious.

    Basically a union of the moneyed and the socially conservative. They champion some traditional working class values, namely social conservatism, while working against the economic interests of the traditional working class.

  15. The focus on sports clubs was a clear tactic at the last election with many tweets from senior Liberals promoting sports grants in their electorates.

  16. Mexicanbeemer @ #521 Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020 – 8:07 pm

    Rakali
    Both the Republicans and Democrats have long political histories with the political divide traditionally being between the south and the north. For a long time the Republicans were the party of the New England states with their wealth and liberal values while the Democrats were the party of the south and unions but this flipped in the 1960s on civil rights when the south went Republican while the Republicans have slowly lost the New England states but the moneyed set has remained Republican.

    It probably has more to do with racism, in the South at least. Lincoln was a Republican* and freed the slaves, so the South turned Democrat. In the 1960’s Johnson (Democrat) signed into law the Civil Rights act which empowered black people. After that the South has been predominantly Republican.

    * And my, haven’t the Republicans moved a long way away from the ideals of Lincoln.

  17. C@tmomma says:
    Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 10:53 pm

    …”With your hammer (and sickle), everything to your right looks like a conservative nail”…

    ………………….

    Excellent, the sooner the Labor party comes to remember Whitlam, and recognise that it was founded on communist principles, the sooner it can re-absorb the Greens, and the sooner it can expunge all the lazy, informal voting, anti-democratic blue-ringed octopi.

  18. Steve777

    Seems to be similar to what happened here.
    ————-
    Not exactly the original Australian Labour Party was founded on socialist principles and informed by the strong Chartist influence from Britain in early Australia. That was when Australia lead the world in a working class living wage, democracy and women’s suffrage etc.

    But this was the 1890s-1910s.

    No one these days would expect the now called Australian Labor Party to lead the world on anything, maybe apart from how to lose elections.

    Does anyone really know what its underlying political philosophy is? I certainly don’t.

    Australia has become a pretty stupid appendage to US destructive capitalism.

    This stance is championed by both the contemporary LNP and the ALP.

    The super powers, like the USA are sclerotic. They Offer no guide to the future.

    Creativity these days lies in smaller more rational countries.

    But global capitalism and its world wide web pedals that the shallow vacuity of the elite (1%) is what’s sexy and importance.

    Hence the obsession with whose fat arse sits in the White House when it is irrelevant to anything important to the increasingly dicey future of homo sapiens sapiens (sic) and the world that that species seems hell bent on destroying.

  19. Not Sure
    The ALP were not founded on communism principles as far as I know. They were mostly a mix of protectionists and radical Liberals with links to the union movement.

  20. Not Sure

    “ With your hammer (and sickle), everything to your right looks like a conservative nail”…
    ———

    Rubbish!

    The Communists were members of the third international.

    The Labour/Social Democratic Parties were always members of the Second Socialist International.

    They preceded the Communists.

  21. Mexicanbeemer @ #524 Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020 – 11:18 pm

    The focus on sports clubs was a clear tactic at the last election with many tweets from senior Liberals promoting sports grants in their electorates.

    It all seems SO obvious now, doesn’t it? But it was also so very acutely targeted, from Liberals, to voters in their electorates.

    There’s some very smart people working with Morrison, you can’t argue with that. But for all the wrong reasons for the country as a whole.

  22. Mexicanbeemer

    “ The ALP were not founded on communism principles as far as I know. They were mostly a mix of protectionists and radical Liberals with links to the union movement.”
    ————
    As i just said they were founded as socialist but not communists.

    But the ALP manifesto had the aim for the “socialisation of the means of production, distribution and exchange” when I was a member. 🙂

  23. I know for a fact that in the weeks and months prior to the federal election certain LNP politicians were trawling around sporting clubs making oblique and not so oblique suggestions regarding the possibility and availability of grants, and suggesting they get in quick.

  24. Rakali @ #530 Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020 – 11:48 pm

    Not Sure

    “ With your hammer (and sickle), everything to your right looks like a conservative nail”…
    ———

    Rubbish!

    The Communists were members of the third international.

    The Labour/Social Democratic Parties were always members of the Second Socialist International.

    They preceded the Communists.

    bakunin was an anarchist but friend of Karl Marx. So the allusion was rubbery and not specifically accurate. Meh. The point still stands. To PB’s bakunin, everyone to the right of HIM looks ‘conservative’. Hence his use of Gough’s sentence. To prove what exactly? Oh yes, that’s right, to ‘prove’ that people to the right of him are ‘conservative’. Which is simply, pure, unadulterated garbage.

  25. After Stalin’s purges, many Australian Communist Party members defected to the Australian Labor Party, disaffected and disgusted with Stalin’s version of Communism.

    One of them was my grandfather and another was my father-in-law.

    A lot of them sustained the Left faction of the Labor Party.

  26. a r @ #535 Thursday, January 23rd, 2020 – 12:03 am

    C@tmomma @ #529 Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020 – 10:49 pm

    There’s some very smart people working with Morrison, you can’t argue with that. But for all the wrong reasons for the country as a whole.

    They don’t care, they get paid either way. It’s exactly the sort of personal ethos that capitalism actively encourages.

    It’s not only that, because I, and I’m sure you, know capitalists that aren’t as cut-throat as the ones behind Morrison. On the Capitalist Spectrum you have everything from the benevolent to the absolutely disgraceful.

  27. Not Sure @ #538 Thursday, January 23rd, 2020 – 12:16 am

    C@tmomma says:
    Thursday, January 23, 2020 at 12:02 am

    …”bakunin was an anarchist but friend of Karl Marx”…

    ………………

    Was Marx something other than an anarchist?

    Marxism is the name for a set of political and economic ideas. The core ideas are that the world is divided into classes, the workers and the richer capitalists who exploit the workers, there is a class conflict that should ultimately result in socialism (workers own means of production), and then communism (stateless, classless society).

    These ideas come from the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. They have had a lot of influence in many countries. Marxism influenced other political views, such as social democracy and reformist socialism. Both believe that the ideas of Marx and Engels can be achieved through what Marx called ‘bourgeois democracy’.

    Marxism is a political and economic way of organizing society, where the workers own the means of production. Socialism is a way of organizing a society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the proletariat. Marx proposed that this was the next necessary step in the progress of history.

    https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism

    Doesn’t sound like a pure anarchist to me.

  28. Marx is somewhat misunderstood because he wasn’t actually anti capitalism but just like Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes, he felt capitalism was unstable but where he differed from Smith and Keynes was the other two basically felt good regulation and good fiscal policy would maintain the system whereas Marx argued it would collapse no matter what. Marx was apparently the first that i know off too argue for performance based pay which goes against what Smith fans think Marx argued for.

  29. Not Sure @ #511 Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020 – 7:28 pm

    bakunin @ #451 Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020 – 8:52 pm

    There is a great quote in Whitlam’s “the impotent are pure” speech…

    …”We cannot convincingly oppose the conservatism of our political opponents with a conservatism of our own”…

    …………………..

    Like all good socialists, I was savagely beaten about the head with this fundamental ideal from an early age.

    Deeply disappointing that many of the great “thinkers” of the Labor party who contribute to this place, have either forgotten, or had parents too stupid to conceptualise it for them.

    Your zealotry shows!

  30. There were also grants given to sports clubs under the “Stronger Communities Grant” scheme.

    My local MP did nothing other than visit schools to give out shields, religious organisations to give money and sports clubs (to give money) and his facebook feed is one long pork barrel.

  31. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Bevan Shields explains how Malcolm Turnbull has accused Prime Minister Scott Morrison of “misleading” Australians over climate change and the summer bushfire disaster, in a dramatic worsening of simmering tensions between both men.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/malcolm-turnbull-slams-pm-s-response-to-climate-change-and-bushfires-20200122-p53tvn.html
    And he reports that Prince Charles has pleaded with world leaders and businesses to rapidly shift to a new economic model that revolutionises the interaction between nature and global financial markets and saves the planet from “approaching catastrophe”. A bit of leadership!
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/prince-charles-pleads-for-sweeping-new-economic-model-to-avert-climate-catastrophe-20200123-p53tw9.html
    Shane Wright writes that destructive bushfires and toxic air has driven consumer confidence down to one of its lowest post-global financial crisis levels, prompting speculation the Reserve Bank will have to use its first meeting of the year to cut official interest rates. The confidence measure was already low and trending down before this happened.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/consumer-confidence-takes-hit-from-fires-20200122-p53tm5.html
    Jess Irvine says that we might be staring down the barrel of a climate change induced financial crisis. She makes some interesting points illustrated by actions already taken by some countries.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/a-carbon-shock-for-the-global-financial-system-20200122-p53trb.html
    Rob Harris tells us how Morrison has (probably tactically) asked PM&C to examine whether Bridget McKenzie had a conflict of interest with respect to her gun club grant. Nothing about all the others though!
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/clip-reveals-mckenzie-gave-club-a-grant-after-joining-as-member-20200122-p53ttl.html
    The SMH editorial says simply that McKenzie needs to be sacked.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/mckenzie-should-be-sacked-over-sports-slush-fund-20200122-p53tte.html
    Sam Maiden has a close look at the referral.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/01/22/pm-sports-rorts-department-boss/
    The Guardian digs deeper into the sports rort issue and finds that Trent Zimmerman did not declare to parliament that he was a patron of the Hunters Hill Rugby Club which received a $500,000 grant just before the 2019 election
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/23/tony-abbott-councils-and-sports-clubs-in-former-pms-seat-received-1m-in-grants
    The time it takes for older Australians to enter a nursing home after being assessed as needing residential care has blown out almost 50 per cent in two years, while waiting times for the highest level of home care package are 34 months. Richard Colbeck is right on top of his brief by the look of it!
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/older-australians-increasing-wait-before-nursing-home-care-report-20200122-p53tn5.html
    Luke Henriques-Gomes writes that a controversial government crackdown on parenting payment recipients that has forced thousands to get a witness to verify their relationship status has failed to find substantial numbers of people flouting the rules. Yet another roaring success for Stuart Robert!
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/23/coalitions-demeaning-parenting-payment-crackdown-falling-short-of-estimated-savings
    More than half of all Australians have been directly affected by the summer’s bushfire crisis, including millions suffering health effects, according to a new survey from the Australia Institute.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/23/bushfire-crisis-more-than-half-of-all-australians-found-to-have-been-directly-affected
    Sarah Kane examines the nature of work in the gig economy.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/can-the-gig-economy-provide-the-decent-quality-of-work-we-want-20200107-p53pik.html
    Professor in plant ecology at Curtin University Byron Lamont explains why prescribed burns don’t stop wildfires. He provides a very sober assessment.
    https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/why-prescribed-burns-don-t-stop-wildfires-20200122-p53tl9.html
    But dirt digger Twiggy Forrest says fuel loads, not climate change, are the primary cause of bushfires.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/andrew-forrest-says-fuel-loads-not-climate-change-are-primary-cause-of-bushfires-20200123-p53twe.html
    Scott Morrison’s stance on climate change makes it harder for future governments to undo his damage says Greg Jericho. He likens Morrison to a bloke who says he is against drink-driving, but then tells his mates the way to drive home from the pub without getting caught by the cops.
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2020/jan/22/scott-morrisons-stance-on-climate-change-makes-it-harder-for-future-governments-to-undo-his-damage
    There’s nothing safe about a country in flames, and the Coalition will exploit that writes Jeff Sparrow.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/22/theres-nothing-safe-about-a-country-in-flames-and-the-coalition-will-exploit-that
    Pru Goward suggests that Australia’s leaders could take a closer look at what volunteering actually does, and what it needs, and then invest in enabling real, not token, effort. It needs deep thinking and doing. Endless talk about social inclusion will not create it.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/what-bio-actions-speak-for-our-volunteer-heroes-not-self-aggrandising-cvs-20200122-p53tov.html
    Mike Foley writes that energy companies will meet Energy Minister Angus Taylor today to discuss the bushfire response but one peak business lobby, the AI Group, says they must also address climate change.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/industry-group-wants-climate-policy-on-agenda-in-wake-of-bushfires-20200121-p53tgt.html
    The German retail giant Kaufland has put its toe into the water in Australia and has decided it’s not the place to invest big.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/german-retail-giant-kaufland-abandons-australia-despite-millions-in-investment-20200122-p53tqe.html
    Isabelle Lane explains why the supermarket giant abandoned its Australian plans.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/consumer/2020/01/22/kaufland-australia-2/
    Weak business investment is eating into productivity and forcing down wages, according to ANZ bank. Businesses are trapped in a vicious cycle of weak investment feeding into lower wages and reduced household spending, which in turn is discouraging firms from investing.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2020/01/21/business-investment-wages-growth/
    Recent rainfall has not extinguished the bushfires, and the RFS says there is no room for complacency writes Jenny Noyes.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-forecast-to-hit-40-degrees-as-nsw-bushfire-danger-returns-20200122-p53tk3.html
    Nicholas Stuart opines that Albanese is trying to be too clever by half on coal.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6590721/albanese-is-trying-to-be-too-clever-by-half-on-coal/?cs=14329
    These researchers tell us that little noticed in the pre-Christmas release of the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook, the government has quietly buried its long-standing targets for restraining spending.
    https://theconversation.com/new-year-new-strategy-unheralded-change-to-budget-targets-creates-space-for-stimulus-129690
    The number of women leading Commonwealth public service departments under the Morrison government is continuing to fall, with the resignation of Health Department secretary Glenys Beauchamp.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6592329/women-disappearing-from-aps-top-echelon/?cs=14329
    Victoria’s ex-police chief Simon Overland told the royal commission that he believes corrupt police stopped successful prosecutions against drug king Tony Mokbel.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/police-corruption-compromised-mokbel-cases-former-top-cop-says-20200122-p53tu7.html
    According to Fergus Hunter telecommunications leaders want to better protect networks from natural disasters like bushfires.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/telcos-move-to-strengthen-mobile-networks-in-wake-of-bushfire-crisis-20200122-p53tqw.html
    A decade since it was first announced, the federal government has spent close to $2bn on its troubled My Health Record system, and half of the 23m records created lie empty almost a year after the government made the system opt-out.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/23/my-health-record-almost-2bn-spent-but-half-the-23m-records-created-are-empty
    January 26 offends Indigenous and many other Australians as the date to celebrate our nationhood. Here’s an idea – not a date but a particular day at the end of January proposes Chris Dunstan.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/why-we-should-change-australia-day-to-the-fourth-friday-in-january-20200119-p53su4.html
    And Frank Cassidy puts the case for changing out national anthem.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6587663/australians-all-let-us-talk-about-our-national-anthem/?cs=14258
    As the rollout of fibre to the home project (FttH) remains a slow process it is no wonder that more and more people are looking towards mobile as a potential alternative writes Paul Budde.
    https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/5g-still-years-away-from-dominating-the-market-,13513
    Ben Butler reports that at yesterday’s hearing lawyers acting for shareholders in a class action against James Packer’s embattled casino empire, Crown Resorts, have lost a bid to crack open secrecy provisions in the contracts of company employees who were convicted of gambling promotion crimes in China.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/22/crown-resorts-shareholders-lawyers-lose-bid-to-overturn-secrecy-provisions
    Alan Austin explains how Trump lost the trade wars in 16 cool charts.
    https://www.michaelwest.com.au/how-trump-lost-the-trade-wars-in-16-cool-charts/
    With the cigarette excise set to rise by another 12.5% in September, the former official targeting illegal tobacco says the price rises are creating unintended consequences.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/expensive-as-silver-warnings-criminals-will-cash-in-on-cigarette-price-hikes-20200122-p53tt1.html
    Many in the north backed Brexit. They will soon begin to feel the costs explains David Conn.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/22/north-backed-brexit-feel-costs-tory-mps
    I thoroughly agree with Tony Featherstone’s thoughts on business meetings starting late.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/small-business/why-do-so-many-work-meetings-start-late-20200121-p53tax.html

    Cartoon Corner

    David Rowe has hit his stride again.

    Cathy Wilcox hits the target again.

    Alan Moir

    John Shakespeare’s suggestion on hazard reduction.

    Matt Golding





    Andrew Dyson

    Matt Davidson

    Mark David


    Peter Broelman

    David Pope from a few days ago.

    Johannes Leak wants to get paid this week!
    https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/ebe2e60920be791c8ab2821799b62486?width=1024

    From the US













  32. C@t,

    There were significant areas of disagreement between Bakunin and Marx which lead to Marx and his followers expelling Bakunin from the First International. When I became interest in politics in the the mid-1980’s the Soviet Block represented a compelling argument for Bakunin’s objections.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Bakunin#First_International_and_the_rise_of_the_anarchist_movement

    The anti-authoritarian majority, which included most sections of the International, created their own First International at the St. Imier Congress, adopted a revolutionary anarchist program, and repudiated the Hague resolutions, rescinding Bakunin’s alleged expulsion.[41] Although Bakunin accepted elements of Marx’s class analysis and theories regarding capitalism, acknowledging “Marx’s genius”, he thought Marx’s analysis was one-sided, and that Marx’s methods would compromise the social revolution. More importantly, Bakunin criticized “authoritarian socialism” (which he associated with Marxism) and the concept of dictatorship of the proletariat which he adamantly refused, saying: “If you took the most ardent revolutionary, vested him in absolute power, within a year he would be worse than the Tsar himself”.

  33. The question should be asked. Why is the AFP doing political ads for the government ?

    AFP
    @AusFedPolice
    · 17h
    The @FireRecoveryAU is now live on Twitter. Stay in the know about updates and measures about how the government is helping Australian families, communities, wildlife and businesses rebuild and recover. They also have a website at http://bushfirerecovery.gov.au

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